Nuclear Waste

What is Nuclear Waste?

Waste that results from the use of radioactive materials- Nuclear energy- Nuclear weapons- Hospitals, Universities, & Research

labs- Industry- Mining and Milling of Uranium Ore

Radioactive Waste

• Spent Fuel Rods• Irradiated elements from reactors• Radioactive coolant, gases, rods

Storing Spent Radioactive Fuel Rods Presents Risks

• Rods must be replaced every 3-4 years

• Cooled in water-filled pools

• Placed in dry casks

• Must be stored for thousands of years

• Vulnerable to terrorist attack

Dealing with Spent Fuel Rods

Fig. 15-24, p. 390

Radioactive Waste

Low Level• Emit small amounts of

radiation• Several States (SC, UT,

WA) accept these products

• 1980: low level radioactive policy act put disposal responsibility on states

• Must be stored 100 – 500 years

• Previously drummed & dumped in ocean

High Level • Initially emit large amounts of

radiation• Reactor equipment, fuel rods• Extremely toxic, continue to

produce heat• Remain radioactive for

thousands of years• Must be converted from liquid

to solid for disposal• Must be stored 10,000 –

240,000 years• 10 years after removal from

reactor still emitting enough radiation to kill a person 1m away in 3 minutes

How & where do we store high level radioactive waste?

1. Isolated areas2. Geologically stable3. NOT near water

Currently, generator facilities store these materials onsite! YIKES!

Possible Locations Discussed Include:

A.Underground rock formations – YUCCA Mtn.

B.Mausoleums in remote locations – above ground vaults

C.Antarctic Ice Sheets – Unstable, melting, movement

D.Ocean Seabeds in ocean ridges – threat of escape to environment

E. Space – Cost prohibitive

Yucca Mountain

• 1987 – DOE – Proposed storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mtn.

• 160km (100 miles) NW of Las Vegas

• Waste stored below ground in steel casks lined with lead

Yucca Mountain

• 2002 – Bush admin. & congress approved construction

• Critics – Location chosen as a political not scientific decision

Yucca Mountain

• 2008 DOE submitted license for construction to NRC which is still being reviewed

• NO DATE on Construction completion or opening

• Expensive: Total cost projected >$96 billion

Yucca Mountain *

• All high level material will be transported (trucks, convoys, rail)

• 1 to 6 shipments each day for 24 years to transport all currently existing material

• SAFETY CONCERNS

Radioactive Decay

Radioactive materials become less radioactive over timeThe decay process releases radiationRelease is NOT constant

Half - Life

Measurement of time it takes for one-half of a radioactive isotope sample to decay into another isotope